NEW YORK – President Donald Trump called out Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam for his recent apology over a racist photo appearing in his 1984 medical school yearbook and comments on late-term abortions.
“Democrat Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia just stated, ‘I believe that I am not either of the people in that photo,’” Trump tweeted Saturday. “This was 24 hours after apologizing for appearing in the picture and after making the most horrible statement on ‘super’ late term abortion. Unforgivable!”
Democrat Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia just stated, “I believe that I am not either of the people in that photo.” This was 24 hours after apologizing for appearing in the picture and after making the most horrible statement on “super” late term abortion. Unforgivable!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2019
Trump suggested in a separate tweet that if Northam’s picture appeared prior to the 2017 gubernatorial election, opponent Ed Gillespie, a Republican, could have had an advantage.
“Ed Gillespie, who ran for Governor of the Great State of Virginia against Ralph Northam, must now be thinking Malpractice and Dereliction of Duty with regard to his Opposition Research Staff,” Trump tweeted. “If they find that terrible picture before the election, he wins by 20 points!”
Ed Gillespie, who ran for Governor of the Great State of Virginia against Ralph Northam, must now be thinking Malpractice and Dereliction of Duty with regard to his Opposition Research Staff. If they find that terrible picture before the election, he wins by 20 points!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2019
Northam apologized Friday for a picture showing one person wearing blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan costume under his section of the yearbook. He denied in a Saturday press conference, however, of being in the picture.
The Virginia governor made comments on late-term abortion in a Wednesday interview with WTOP. Northam’s statements were regarding Virginia’s HB 2491, which would allow abortions late into the third term in certain cases.
“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen,” Northam said in the interview. “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”
Northam defeated Gillespie in November 2017. Northam had 53.6 percent of the vote while Gillespie had 45.2 percent.